Tortured Memories
by Shadow-StrikeRaven
Summary: After realizing that removing any of the Guardians from play will not work, Pitch decides to try a different plan of attack. Using necromancy, he returns a departed loved one to the land of the living and turns (and uses) them against the Guardians. Challenge prompt by Kagirinai-Eternal. Rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. Haunted By The Past

_**Challenge prompt by**_**Kagirinai-Eternal****  
****After realizing that removing any of the Guardians from play will not work, Pitch decides to try a different plan of attack. Using **_**necromancy**_**_,_he returns a departed loved one to the land of the living and turns (and uses) them against the Guardians.**

**This will probably only be a few chapters long, but the chapters will be my usual length...  
Credit to Kagirinai-Eternal, of course, and hope you enjoy my attempt!  
**

* * *

This was going to be a very interesting week, Pitch thought, laughing as the subject of all his hard work rose to its feet.  
At just over seven foot, the long dead Pooka stared at him, eyes blank and pitch black. He smirked at the irony of the comment, and at how fitting it was...  
With a whispered instruction, Pitch left the giant rabbit to carry out his orders with a smile on his face.  
Waking up to realise that your long dead best friend has been brought back to life for the sole purpose of destroying everything you held dear? Then finding out that it had only been possible because of your own thoughts, fears, memories and nightmares?  
Oh yes, E. Aster Bunnymund would be getting a surprise...  
Or rather, a nightmare...  
Then Pitch looked over to the corner, where the failed remnants of his first experiment into the art of necromancy lay.  
A small, shivering bundle of fear and distrust and hatred and confusion... Also known as the younger sister of one Jackson Overland Frost.  
Oh yes, this was going to be a very interesting week indeed...

Little did he know that a certain Golden Guardian had felt the unnaturally high spike of fear and darkness and had witnessed the entire display with the Pooka, before racing off to get help.  
With the resurrected Pooka heading to the Pole, Sandy went to the only two people he knew could do anything about it.  
Lucky thing that they were both together then...

Bunnymund rolled his eyes as Jack did a few back-flips, grumbling about the unfairness of avalanches and overprotective winds.  
The youngest Guardian had long since become a regular visitor to the warren, and Bunny had grown to like the constant cheerful chatter and the odd prank or small snowstorm. It certainly filled the duller moments that had been in his life till now...  
Speaking of dull moments, it looked as though they were about to have just the opposite, as Bunny caught sight of a very flustered looking Sandman hurtling towards them. Jack had apparently seen too, and Bunny was grateful, not for the first time, for the younger guardians ability to speak sign language. From the look on Sandy's face, they had no time for charades...

Half an hour later, and Bunnymund was at, silently staring into space, Jack having finished narrating what Sandy was saying.  
Pitch had... It was just... How could anyone... One thought trailed into another, into another as Bunny tried to get his thoughts straight. And tried to figure just what the hell he should do...  
He felt a cold hand rest on his shoulder, and looked up to see Jack giving him a small smile, his eyes showing Bunny that he understood just too well the ache that was left with the loss of everything you know and everything you are...  
"We have to help them, Bunny..."  
"I know. I just... I don't know whether I could fight him... Not after..."  
He trailed off, and realised that he would do what he had to do. He had no choice.  
"Okay Frostbite, let's get going..."  
Jack surprised him by giving him a hug.  
"I'm sorry you have to go through this..." he whispered, and the Pooka nodded.  
"I know... Me too Jacko..."  
"Jacko?"  
"What? It's got more of a kick to it. Jacko... Jackie... Whacky...?"  
"Or just _Jack_..."  
"Where's the fun in that?"  
The smiles were empty, and the jokes fell flat, but none-the-less, he felt a little better. Somehow, Jack could always cheer him up... Must be the fact that he was the guardian of fun and all that...  
"Okay then... Let's go sort out this mess."  
The bravado was false, and they all knew it. Sandy lay a hand on Bunny's shoulder, and gave him a sad smile, before backing up and signing to Jack.  
"...Yeah, a tunnel would be quicker." He said, after Sandy had finished, and Bunny tapped a foot, opening one.  
"Then what're we waitin' for?"  
They all jumped, Sandy and Jack flying right behind Bunny, and it was a matter of minutes before they arrived at the Pole.

The first thing they noticed was that it was quiet. Very Quiet. No whistles or humming or tooting or squeaking or thrumming of new toys, no hustle, no bustle, no chiming of small bells or yeti calls or cheerful music or... well, anything.  
It was just... wrong.  
It was as though the very wonder and life had been sucked from Santoff Claussen...  
And that thought had them all running to where they hoped to find North.  
As they ran, or flew, they realised why t was so quiet. Every Yeti and Elf they passed was unconscious. Alive, but unconscious. But there were no signs of a struggle...  
Sandy created a light bulb above his head and started signing, Jack quickly translating.  
"Might need to... draw energy to... stay alive? Or just... or it might just be a side effect... that's unavoidable. Right, so beware of getting the life sucked from you." Bunny flinched slightly, and Jack immediately looked stricken.  
"Oh damn, Bunny, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"  
"Drop it, Frostbite, it's okay..."  
"But-"  
"I said drop it!"  
"... Okay."  
Jack had jolted at the volume and sighed. Why couldn't he have just kept his mouth shut for once?  
They continued on in silence, until they rounded the corridor to North's study and heard his voice.  
"There is nothing inside but Pitch then, Da?"  
His voice was filled with regret, and they realised he must have been trying to figure out if there was anything but Pitch... It seemed there wasn't. North would only give up if the situation truly were hopeless...  
Bunny spoke up, voice guarded and empty.  
"A'right. Frostbite, you and Sandy get North, I'll deal with Sp- the Pooka."  
Jack placed a hand on his arm.  
H-He's not your friend, Bunny. He's just a puppet for Pitch-"  
"I know! Just shut your face and let me get on with it! Stop interferin' in every damned thing you come across Frost!"  
His voice had been no higher than a whisper, but Jack still flew back, shocked, and collided with Sandy.  
Bunny blinked. He hadn't... He didn't just say that, did he...?  
Jacks voice was quiet when he replied, the same quiet that only showed when he was hurting.  
"Sorry..."  
Bunny cursed himself inside his head, but had no time to say anything as the study door opened, and a Pooka leapt out, eyes black and devoid of anything.  
His strategic mind took over and he called out to the other two.  
"Get North!"

He didn't have time to see if they had listened, and focused on his... no, on Pitch's... Damn it!  
His mind wouldn't clear, and he immediately flashed back to a much happier time, in fact, it was the last time he had seen his friends before the fighting... the last time he had ever laid eyes on him till now...  
_Him and Springo, his best friend, were lounging around the dye pools of his fathers' land.  
It was the middle of spring and they had nothing to do but chat idly and mess with their boomerangs.  
"Ya know, Azzy," Springo said, using his common nickname, "I can't believe yer father won't let you do painting... I mean, ya can still mess with the damned boomerangs, but ya could beat old Leo himself with yer paintbrush..."  
"Then why dontcha try talking with him, eh Ringo? He might listen... I know he didn't with the other dozens that tried, but he may listen to you... The bad influence."  
"Alright, alright. Jeez Aster, ya can be real sarcastic when ya wanna be... Which is-"  
"Which is all the time, I know. Y've said. A lot."_  
Springo smiled... the last smile he had ever given.  
_"Damned straight, and dontcha forget it mate. I'd betta be off, ma sister's got me roped inta setting up fer er birthday party..."  
A party she would never have...  
"You coming ova'?"_  
_"Wouldn't miss it... Besides, ya'd need someone there ta keep ya from rippin ya fur out..."  
"Too right... Catch ya later Azzy."_  
The last time he spoke to him...  
"_Sure thing, Ringo..."_  
The very last time...  
_Then the fire... and blood... the screams and the cries and the pain and the glints of sunlight on weapons and the black sand of nightmares and-_  
Bunny drew out of it with a gasp, and he felt himself torn apart inside.  
He couldn't fight him... He couldn't...  
He never saw the huge fist coming, but definitely felt the wall as his head collided with it.  
He knew he was going to be too slow in getting to his feet, and braced himself for the next blow, but blinked, finally getting to his feet as Jack leapt in front of him, the wind carrying the flurry of snow and ice around the other Pooka and giving Bunny time to get his bearings.  
But Jack was a minute second too slow to dodge the flailing limbs, and cried out as he was thrown into a wall. Before he could get to his feet, the other Pooka had wrapped an arm around him, a look of something akin to satisfaction on his face, and that's when Bunny understood.  
North had never been the target... Jack was.

Jack seemed to realise this at the same time, and he locked eyes with Bunny, wordlessly asking him to come after him...  
Bunny made him a silent promise, and Jack's expression turned to one of determination.  
That's when Bunny realised that their youngest guardian may be the strongest of them all...  
But he was too late to stop the black shadows engulfing them both, and too late to stop them vanishing from sight.  
The darkness faded and Bunny slumped against the wall.  
He should have realised. Pitch had wanted revenge since his last attempt to take over the world, and now he had every opportunity... Well, not if Bunnymund had anything to do with it.  
That's where North and Sandy found him, and that's where they blinked at his single minded determination as he started making a plan.  
He hadn't been this focused for a very long time, and he wasn't sure what the swirling mess of emotions towards the younger guardian were. All he knew was that he was getting him away from Pitch... No matter what kind of bodyguards he had.

Jack groaned as he opened his eyes, a raging headache splitting his skull, and glared as everything came into focus, revealing Pitch stood over him.  
"Hello again Jack..."  
"Hello to you to. Nice to see you're so calm about the fact that the guardians are soon gonna come and kick your ass all over again."  
Jack's head was pounding, but he couldn't hide a small grin as Pitch's face darkened.  
"But you forget. It was you who turned the tide last time, Jack. They won't have that advantage this time, when I send every nightmare at my disposal after them."  
"Leaving yourself defenceless. I like it."  
"We shall see... But I did not bring you here for a bout of witty banter, Jack. Oh no, I brought you hear to grant you one of your deepest wishes... or nightmares depending on your point of view."  
Jack's normally quick brain was sluggish, so he didn't immediately register the small sounds coming from a small figure behind Pitch. When he did, however, doubt and fear started gnawing at his stomach. Pitch laughed,  
"Your nightmares Jack... recently filled with your human death, your human life, your family..." He smirked, eyes glowing dangerously. "Yes indeed, your thoughts seemed very focused on... your little sister?"  
Jack looked from him to the black, empty eyes of the small, shadow shrouded figure, and he went cold.  
"No..." It was no more than a whisper, and Pitch laughed.  
"Why yes, Jack... Say hello to your sister."  
The black eyes found his, the shadows receding to show the achingly familiar face, and Jack felt himself go limp, his vision blurred as he fought the visions and nightmares that threatened...  
Eventually, however, he couldn't fight it anymore, and felt an ice cold tear trail down his cheek as he was swept into a land of twisted memories, haunted by the cold, dead eyes, the trailing shadows and Pitch's mocking laughter as his heart was torn apart...

* * *

**Woah... Got a little dark towards the end there... I honestly did not expect it to take this direction, and I know it's cheating with having two brought back, but it makes sense that Pitch would try to hurt Jack first, and that he would fail at least once with it...  
Hence the dark, twisted side of my muse being able to break free and run rampant in my head...  
Anyway, I think this fic is going to be shorter than I first thought, maybe being only three or four chapters long... But I hope you enjoy anyway, and please review to let me know what you think!**


	2. The Importance of the Present

Bunny cursed as he followed the nightmare. It had been three days since Jack had been taken, and Pitch had moved the entrance to his lair... Now they had resorted to tracking any nightmares they found in an attempt to find their way in.  
But it appeared they were in luck.  
The nightmare he was tracking vanished into a small cave, in the side of the mountain, and after it failed to return, after a few minutes, he nodded to the small fairies that were with him.  
"Okay, scatter... Get the others. But be careful, eh?"  
They chirped in acknowledgement and flew away, leaving Bunny to plan the best way to approach. When North arrived an hour later, Tooth and Sandy a few minutes after that, he was all ready with a plan.  
"We just charge the damned place... But maybe a little stealthily at first."  
"... Sounds like good plan to me. Tooth? Sandy?"  
A nod and a golden swirl of sand turning into a cavalry horse had Bunny smiling.  
"Alright then, let's go..."  
_

Jack was in a swirl of anguish, fever, fear and torment. His thoughts and memories were being twisted and ripped apart by the achingly close, torturously familiar and yet emotionless voice of the shadowy ghost that haunted him.  
The small voice echoed around his head...  
_"You left me Jack... You left me alone... You forgot about me..."_  
Over and over, the words echoed... Until he believed nothing but what she said... Until he heard nothing but those words... Those words and Pitch's laughter.  
The few times he managed to break free of the nightmares, it was to find those eyes staring at him, cold and lifeless, and to hear Pitch gloat about how the guardians had still not come...  
It had been three days... They would come soon... they wouldn't leave him there... would they?  
But Pitch's voice kept at it, telling him that they would never find him... that they would never bother... that he had been nothing but a burden... that he should join him and be all that he was meant to be...  
Twisted memories, Pitch Black's taunts and laughter and the cold emotionless voice and empty eyes of the shade of his sister took up every waking minute, and the fevered memories and fears took up every unconscious moment until eventually, there was almost nothing else left...  
Nothing but a small, slowly dwindling part of his mind that kept repeating one thing...  
They would come... They would come... They had to...  
_

Bunny slowly inched his way along the wall, Sandy next to him, as North and Tooth did the same on the opposite side.  
They stayed lever with each other until Bunny's sensitive ears picked up on a familiar voice... One that had him growling softly under his breath, and he called across to the others.  
"Pitch. Must be a cavern or something a few hundred metres ahead."  
The other nodded, and, sure enough, it was only a further ten minutes or so before they reached the opening, that overlooked a huge cavern.  
Pitch was visible just below them, and there was a small figure beside him, wrapped in shadow. Something about the figure set Bunny's fur bristling, but that was swept aside as he spotted Spri- The shade of his old friend.  
He cursed inside his head. He had to stop thinking about him as his friend. He wasn't. He was just an empty shell...  
He blinked and turned his attention back to Pitch as the Nightmare King laughed, and spoke.  
"Now Jack... This defiance gets you nowhere... Have these past three days taught you nothing? I can see you want to give in... want the pain to stop... want your memories to stop torturing you... So why fight this? Why stay so loyal to the guardians when they have abandoned you..."  
North had to hold Bunny back from leaping down as he heard those words, and he barely picked up Jack's faint response, shaking slightly as he realised that the spirit was so close.  
"Y-you're... wrong..."

Tooth's heart nearly broke as she heard how shattered the young spirit sounded... how drained, tired, tortured, cold... His usual defiance was nearly untraceable, and he sounded near to breaking point. She wanted nothing more than to just wrap him in her arms and never let go...  
Her wings sped up slightly as she inched her way between Bunny and North, leaning further over to try and see what was going on.  
Pitch laughed, unaware of what was going on above him.  
"But Jack, you can sense it yourself, can't you? How useless you are to them... How unimportant... Join me Jack-"  
"No!"  
"Oh Jack... You don't understand do you? Just how powerful you are? You could tear this world apart and remake it... Have everyone believe in you..."  
"Y-you mean... have every... everyone f-fear me... The ans-answer is still... No... W-will always be... no..."  
All four of the guardians felt a huge wave of warmth and pride towards the youngest, and Sandy blinked as he finally found what he was looking for.  
He gestured to North, making a small show out of sand, and Tooth translated.  
"To destroy the... shades... you have to destroy the black spheres around Pitch's neck?... But it has to be done by the person from who's memories they stem from..."  
Sandy nodded, and gave Bunny a sad look.  
So, in order to destroy the shade, he had to destroy the orb... But could he-  
A sudden movement caught his eye, and he saw Pitch dart forwards, black sand shooting from his hand towards where Jack must be.  
The pained cry the younger guardian gave threw all doubt from his mind.  
He had to help Jack... Nothing else mattered now.  
They all shared a look, and, as one, leapt over the edge into the cavern.

The surprise enabled Tooth to dart forward and snatch the orbs from around Pitch's neck, but she was thrown back by the sudden influx of nightmares, and they were wrenched from her hand and flew to the far corner of the room.  
Wait... Two of them?  
There eyes all followed the two orbs as they bounced apart, and they looked at each other. Two... That meant...  
The significance of the small figure threw them all, and they all looked towards her, Pitch's mocking laughter echoing as he strolled over to her.  
"Well, I have to say. I'm impressed you found me... But that's not what matters. I see you're interested to see who else I brought back? Well, now that is an interesting question. My first foray into the area of necromancy yielded rather... unsavoury results, but she has served her purpose well. Now, why don't you all say hello to Emma Frost?"  
The atmosphere was so thick it could have been cut with a knife, as they all focused on the small figure, who Pitch had pulled from the shadows.  
The resemblance was shocking, as they all recalled the Jack they had seen when he had once shared his memories, and the small face was just as each of them remembered. Save for the cold, dead eyes...  
That's when a small part of Bunny told him they had lost.  
Jack had loved his sister more than anyone... more than his own life. And this fight could only be won if he destroyed her?  
The other guardians must have realised the same thing, and Pitch smiled at the looks of horror on their faces. He gestured for the nightmares to clear a path to Jack, and grimaced in mock pity.  
"Such a shame..."  
Bunny''s eyes widened, panicked and horrified as he took in Jack. Black tendrils of nightmare sand trailed from him, trapping him in a writhing cage, and he was shivering, curled in on himself. Blood seeped from various scrapes on his arms, clearly from where he had tried to break free from the nightmares, only to have been injured for his troubles, his clothes were torn, bloody, and covered in dirt and flecks of black sand and his breathing was ragged... half gasps, half sobs.  
Bunny also noticed his staff, laying shattered into several pieces, several feet from him, and fury melded in with the cacophony of other, indiscernible emotions.  
Tooth was frozen, face a mask of horror, and looked like she was going to be sick. North was likewise affected and even Sandy, who had seen enough pain in his time, was completely horrified.  
Well, whether they would win or not, he'd be damned if Pitch was getting away with this.

Without warning, he made a lunge at where he had seen one of the orbs fall, and felt, rather than saw, the cavern erupt into movement behind him.  
He found himself grabbing the orb, and something told him that he had found the right one.  
He flexed his hand, ready to crush it, but something stopped him.  
Could he do this?  
He caught sight of the Pooka shade, and followed the path he was taking, realising that he was heading towards Jack.  
That's when something snapped.  
Like hell.  
There was no hesitation as he crushed the fragile glass, and a rush of black fog erupted from it, smothering him before exploding around the cavern.  
Pitch gave a cry of rage, but Bunny's gaze was caught by a pair of familiar eyes.  
Springo gave him a small smile, a ghost of his former self evident on his face, before he faded into the dark mass and it seemed to fizzle. Then it spiralled upwards before circling into a small cocoon and then vanishing.  
One problem sorted...  
Bunny ignored the pang his heart gave, and he joined the fight, heading towards Jack.  
The Tooth and North were heading in the same direction, cutting through the nightmares that got in their path, but Bunny was closer and finally managed to drop down next to him, keeping the nightmares from attacking Sandy, as the golden guardian finally had the chance to get rid of the black sand that was circling Jack.  
It took a few minutes, and both Tooth and North keeping Pitch away with Bunny focusing on the nightmares, but he eventually managed it, and Jack jumped upright, before crying out in pain and collapsing in on himself again, breathing ragged and irregular.  
Sandy took over from the nightmares, his whips forming and lashing out with a deadly accuracy, and Bunny wasted no time in dropping beside Jack.

"Jack? Hey Frostbite, and you open your eyes for me?"  
He was rewarded with a faint, badly concealed sob, and the winter spirit opened his eyes.  
"B-Bunny...?"  
"Yeah, It's me Frostbite, we're all here..."  
"Y-you came..."  
"Course we did. Im sorry Jack, but we have to get you out of here-"  
"The-the shade... Of y-your... friend..." He was clearly putting a lot of effort into being able to say even those few, simple words, and the gasps became more pronounced as he continued. "Y-you... saw him... h-heading here... didn't you...?"  
"Yeah...?" Where was he going with this?  
"A-and you... you broke... the orb... Even... even though he-he was... And I... Im s-sorry for... for-"  
"Hey, it's okay Frostbite... Come on, let's get ya out of here, then ya can talk when yer feelin betta, eh mate?"  
The spirit didn't have a chance to reply as his eyes widened, and he tried to shout a warning  
"Look out!"  
Bunny was too slow to react, and felt himself thrown backwards, where he landed on top of North.  
Before he could do more than roll over, he was cocooned in a black stream of light, and looked over to see the same had happened to North, and that Tooth had also already been trapped. Sandy held out a little longer, but soon even he was covered in black strands.  
Pitch laughed.  
"Did I not tell you how the first experiment failed? Let me elaborate... It was actually a failure of the best kind. Small Pippa over there not only causes fear, but is literally a power core for it. She exudes so much fear that she holds enough to enable me to overpower you with ease! That, combined with the pain and fear Jack has suffered the last three days will allow me to destroy you without the slightest difficulty... But that is not enough for me. No, I want revenge for the times you've cast me into darkness! For the times you banished me to the shadows, and now I shall have it! By turning all of your wonder and hope and memories and dreams into nightmares and fear... by taking it from you and leaving you to suffer with the knowledge that you failed in your duty as guardians!"  
No matter how they fought against the sand holding them, they couldn't break free of it, and they all felt the first pangs of hopelessness settling in.  
Pitch gave a smirk.  
Finally...

He didn't notice the young winter spirit stumbling across the cavern, half crawling and half collapsing as he tried to ignore the pain and dragged himself towards the corner. To where he had seen a small black orb falling to the floor...

* * *

**Wow, this fic has gone faster than planned.**

**This chapter was also quite dark, wasn't it... But hopefully none of the characters were OOC? It's a constant worry of mine, so I would really appreciate you guys letting me know... And I know it's not the best chapter ever, but hopefully it wasn't that bad...?**  
**The next chapter is likely to be the last one, with maybe an epilogue... And will be less dark, but will definitely have a lot of angst and shizzle...**

**And hmm, I'm debating whether to turn this into my first BunnyFrost/Jackrabbit fic... What do you guys think? If no-one says otherwise, I'll just let my muse takeover and see where it gets me :D  
(There will be no hardcore smut though, either way...)  
Please review and let me know!**

**Raven xx**

******(Oh, And I chose the name Pippa for the same reason that the vast majority of us fans do. Because Jack's sister has the same voice actor as Pippa. I was considering Janie, as she looks a lot like Jamie, but decided against it.)**


	3. Looking to the Future

**Okay, long delay, but It's up now... Please don't mob me with pitchforks? *peeks out from behind Evil Authoress Chair with a sheepish grin, waving lollipops* Here! I hav lollipops! That makes everything better, right? *throws them all over to you guys*  
Oh, and I changed Jack's sister's name from Pippa to Emma, which is the proper name for her (took them long enough to release that little piece of info, eh?)  
Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

All four were thrashing to escape the black nightmare cocoons, half focusing on that, half focusing on keeping Pitch's eyes away from Jack.  
It seemed Pitch had a plan of his own though, and as their hopes faltered, they figured out what it was. Pitch smirked as he saw the dawning realisation.  
"Yes... First, you get rid of he, then you get rid of wonder... Then you destroy any dreams and finally, destroy memories... Or corrupt them. Either way, as your centres finally crumble, as will the belief of children all over the world... And where will that leave them? Defenceless against the nightmares and fears I will release to run rampant through the world..."

Jack had reached a point where the pain meant nothing now. Nothing, and yet everything.  
He had almost forgotten why it was so important to reach the corner, and it was only when his hand closed on a small orb that it cam to him.  
Now all he had to do was crush it.  
But he found himself halting.  
His little sister... He couldn't-  
The mocking voice fought against his own memories, as twisted and tainted as they were.  
In life, so full of happiness... smiling... energetic... innocent...  
Now full of pan and misery... haunting...  
It wasn't her... It wasn't his Emma...  
But he was going to lose her anyway.  
Everything seemed to freeze for him as he crushed the fragile glass between his fingers, an explosion of black tendrils escaping from the depths of it, and he met the Shade's eyes...  
But they were brown now. Brown, and full of an achingly familiar mischievousness.  
"Jackie..."  
The faint whisper met his ears even as the shade exploded into a mess of black sand, before finally collapsing in on itself, and he found himself smiling, ever so faintly...  
One word, but it said so much.  
It said thank you... It promised that everything was okay... It told him that she loved him... And it said goodbye. Something he had always wished he could have said to her.  
"Bye Em..."  
He blearily took in how Pitch's hold on the guardians weakened and they broke free, destroying the remaining nightmares. He took in how Pitch vanished, with hi usual threats of retaliation and revenge. He took in the suddenness of the other four suddenly turning and racing towards him.  
Then he decided to Moon with it, and let the darkness take him.  
_

Bunny was the first to reach him, and spoke up, letting his take charge side take over.  
"He's unconscious. I'll get him back to the Pole. Sandy?"  
Sandy nodded, as Bunny gently lifted Jack up and tapped a tunnel, before grabbing the Pooka's shoulder as he leapt through leaving Tooth and North to rush back to the sleigh.  
It was mere minutes before Jack was lying in the medical dorm being bandaged up.  
Sandy was weaving pure dreamsand into a 24 hour dream cycle, which would mean Jack would be asleep for quite some time, in order to combat the after effects of the nightmare sand, and Bunny was working on the various cuts and grazes.  
He had bandaged Jack's chest, where he had found three fractured ribs, as well as his wrist, which was also fractured, and was now working on the shallower cuts, the deeper ones having already been bandaged.  
He had just finished tying the last one when Tooth flew in, shortly followed by North, both frantic.  
In fact, it was a further hour before they were all, minus Bunny who had stayed in the room with Jack, sitting around the table in a room across the hall.  
Tooth was red eyed from crying, and looking more frazzled than the others knew how to deal with, and North was busy pacing and quietly cursing in Russian behind the sofa, a clear testament to his worry, as North hardly ever paced...

They had every intention of staying like that till Jack woke up, but Sandy knew they too were suffering from exposure to the nightmare sand and managed to, subtly, coat them in it so they fell asleep.  
Then, he went to try the same thing with Bunny, only to be met with a glare which had him hastily backtracking, though he got permission to put him into a light sleep for a couple of hours to get rid of the nightmare sand's effects.  
Sandy perched himself on the end of Jack's bed, until Bunny woke up, and sent a couple of dream sand streams into his dreams, to combat the-strangely ferocious-nightmare sand. He also found himself swept into small snippets of the dreams, and smiled to himself.  
It seemed Jack was finally starting to overcome his memories...  
But Sandy also knew he would have to keep a constant dream sand stream for the young guardian as he slept, for the next few weeks at least, to help overcome the nightmares caused by what had happened to him the last few days. As it was, he couldn't help but see scenes and snippets of his memories from then, and found himself, for the first time in a long time, actually wanting to completely and utterly destroy something. Preferably Pitch...  
He kept up the dream sand work even as Bunny woke up, and found himself unwilling to show Bunny what Jack had been through.  
That was Jack's story to tell when he was ready... Or his secret to keep.

It was a few hours later that a very irritated Tooth and a glaring North dragged Sandy off to lecture him about not doing that, and to remind him of the many times they had told him not to.  
Before North joined Bunny, leaving Sandy and Tooth to go sort out everything they needed to, before Tooth took over North and, a few hours later, Sandy took over Tooth, giving her and North a chance to sleep properly.  
Bunny couldn't help dozing of again, and Sandy himself gave a yawn. He might not need to sleep often, but he couldn't last indefinitely...  
But he would for now. For as long as it took for Jack to wake up.  
_

Jack groaned, mentally, as he felt himself waking up.  
Sure, he had faced his fears and demons and nightmares over the last few hours, his subconscious warring with everything to the point where he knew he would never again be defenceless against a few nightmares about his past, but now he was waking up.  
And by Moon, did his chest hurt. And his wrist.  
And damn it, he had one hell of a headache.  
He finally managed to open his eyes, only to find a grinning and relieved and '_I know more than you think I know'_ Sandy, staring at him. With a groan, he spoke up.  
"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be sleeping a lot over the next few days?"  
Sandy shook his head, gesturing upwards.  
"Weeks?"  
The golden guardian shook his head, grinning.  
"... Months?"  
Sandy nodded, and Jack groaned again, waking Bunny up.  
"Bloody... Over protective... Old... Oh don't deny it, you're old. Ridiculously old."  
"Oi, careful with the older generation jokes Frostbite... I'm part of it."  
"And don't we all know it."  
Bunny matched Jacks grin, then sighed.  
"How ya feelin?"  
"Good."  
Bunny raised an eyebrow, and Jack rolled his eyes.  
"Okay, so I have a headache... And I think it's pretty clear that I've fractured some ribs and... Huh, my wrist too I'm assuming... But apart from that, I'm fine. Me and my subconscious had a chat."  
"... What?"  
"My thoughts exactly."  
Bunny shook his head, getting a shrug from Sandy. Then he blinked as a rant started building itself up inside his head.  
Jack and Sandy exchanged looks as Bunny's ears flattened, and Sandy winced sympathetically, slowly sidling out of the room, much to Jack's annoyance.  
"Err... Bunny?"  
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!? JUMPING IN FRONT OF HIM? ARE YOU INSANE!? DON'T YOU EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!"  
"Can't make any promises."  
"I DON'T EVEN- Wait... What?"  
"I said I can't make any promises. What was I going to do? Stand aside and watch?"  
"... Yes."  
"Err, how about no? Moon, do you know me at all? I'd do it again if I had to. Pitch and all."  
Bunny was floundering, looking as though he had no idea what to say, but Jack decided to simply smile and let him flounder. He could help him out, of course, but where was the fun in that?  
"You- You just... I- Don't even... But... I... Gah! Damn it Jack, you are the most frustrating-"  
"Hey! You said my name!"  
Bunny simply shook his head at the wide grin on the winter spirit's face, and slumped into his chair.  
"Moon, so this is what it's like to have a younger brother, eh?"  
"Younger-What?"  
"Yeah, you're like the annoying little brother I never had. Irritating... frustrating... Annoyingly correct a lot of the time... Moon, you worry me half to death sometimes-"

He cut off as he noticed the shocked look Jack was giving him, and rolled his eyes.  
"Oh please, don't get all sappy on me Frostbite- YOW!" This was as a snowball hit him in the face, and he glared at Jack, who was grinning widely.  
"Oops? Hey! Does this make Tooth the mother figure, North the father figure and Sandy the embarrassing yet sometimes ridiculously funny uncle?"  
Bunny couldn't help bursting out into laughter, and North, Tooth and Sandy, as they came in, stopped at the sight, before simply shaking it of and turning to the grinning Jack.

Tooth immediately flew forwards, pulling him into a hug, but zipping back when Jack ended up yelping, her having forgotten that his ribs were still healing.  
"Sorry!"  
"It's fine... Had worse."  
He was still catching his breath when North pulled him into a hug which, though nowhere near as tightly as he could have done, still left him slightly out of breath.  
He held up a hand to ward off Sandy, creating a snowball, throwing it in the air and catching it with one hand, almost absent mindedly, and glaring at him.  
"Try it. I dare you."  
Sandy shook his head, holding his hands up in surrender, and Jack grinned.  
But the grin quickly morphed to a sigh and an internal groan as the questions started.  
_

A few hours later, they were done with their questions-Jack having had Tooth show them everything to avoid all the ridiculous questions-, he had pretty much had shouting match as he told them he was okay, and he was feeling tired again.  
Bunny caught sight of the stifled yawn, and gestured to Sandy. In a few minutes, Jack was asleep again, and they ll head to the living room across the hall.  
"He is not getting away with this."  
This was Bunny, who was in full on 'I want to strangle something' Mode. The others nodded, likewise enraged, but North spoke up.  
"We do not start these things, Bunny. And Jack would not want this. Pitch will try again. And we will be ready when he does."  
They all nodded, no words needed for them to share what they were feeling.  
No-one attacked one of their own. No-one.  
For a few minutes, none of them made a sound, then Tooth spoke up again.  
"Anyway, Sandy? Before you knock him out next time, can we please get some food into him first? It might only take him a few days to heal his injuries properly, but he still needs to eat properly. Which he never does anyway."  
Bunny muttered something that sounded like '_Total mother figure', _before he grinned and nodded.  
"Looks like we'll be annoying Jack for the next few days by fawning over him then."  
The other shared looks, and looked to him, nodding.  
"Da."  
"Of course."  
A shrug from Sandy, as if to say '_Yes... And...?'  
_"Good. Just checking."

* * *

**So, just an epilogue to go now. Hopefully you guys enjoyed the chapter? Please review and let me know!  
**


	4. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_Three Weeks Later_

Jack grinned as he took aim.  
Then he let the stream of snow loose.  
The resulting yelp from the Pooka below him, and the subsequent curses, had him laughing and sinking into a nearby tree.  
They had finally agreed to let him out of the Pole a few days ago-mainly because Jack had resorted to pranking everyone until they said yes- and had spent the entire time sending snow over everywhere that should have had it the last couple of weeks.  
Before realising that the wind had flown him into the warren whilst he had been relaxing, in mid-air, and he had decided to get things properly back to normal. Hence the snow drift Bunny was now buried in.  
"FROSTBITE! I SWEAR, WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS I'LL... I'LL... GAH!"  
Jack grinned as he landed next to him, getting the wind to help Bunny dig himself out.  
"'Lo Bunny. How ya doin?"  
"Fine. Until you decided to bury me."  
"What can I say? Old habits die hard." He yelped as Bunny finally struggled free of the snow, grabbed him, and rubbed his knuckles lightly into his hair.  
"OW! HEY! LEMME GO!"  
He scowled as he wriggled free, then ran a hand through his-now even scruffier- hair, and glared at Bunny, failing to hide the amused glint in his eyes.  
"Why the hair!? What has the hair ever done to you?"  
"Hmm... Belong to someone who just buried me in a snowdrift."  
The statement was met with a snowball to Jack's head, which Bunny had just managed to slyly make and throw at him, and Jack blinked, wiping the snow from his eyes, before he rolled his sleeves up.  
"Oh... Big mistake Kangaroo..."  
Bunny shrugged, half grinning half gulping, and opened a tunnel up, leaping through.  
Jack was quick to follow.

North blinked as he heard a huge crash, followed by shouted insults, failing to hide the laughter behind them, and bangs.  
He sighed, groaning as herds of panicked Yeti's stampeded past his office to bunker's, and got to his feet.  
"Why must things be going back to normal?" he complained, to himself, before entering one of the workshops, only to duck a wave of snow and get himself knocked over by Bunny.  
"Oops, sorry mate! Oh, DUCK!"  
North failed to duck in time, and found himself, stood with his arms crossed, covered in snow and paint.  
Jack shot him a sheepish grin.  
"Sorry North!"  
North could never resist the cheerful sheepish expression Jack gave him on occasions such as this, and simply groaned, shaking himself free of snow, and slumping into a nearby chair, waving his hand dismissively.  
"I will not be amused if I get hit."  
The battle resumed, and North waved to a grinning Sandy as he floated in for a visit, rolling his eyes as Sandy joined in the battle. On Jack's side of course.  
Well, he couldn't have uneven teams now, could he?  
Tooth fluttered by half an hour later, for her daily fly by, and sighed at the battle raging beneath her.  
Looked like things would never change...

* * *

**Thanks for everyone who has supported me through this fic, with reviews, faves, follows and everything else :D**  
**Hope you enjoyed! :D**

**Raven xx**


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